The first 4 tracks are FUCKING JAMS and they're equally transcendent and trippy. The 4:30 mark
on Singularity had me banging my head against the fucking wall. Neon Pattern Drum is wild, it's so
fucking weird. These tracks are both aggressive and beautiful.
At first listen, I thought it was strange that the record doesn't quite regain that energy. However,
expecting the calmness in future listens, I can accept it a lot more. Feel First Life is the album's
Abandon Window and it's really beautiful. It sinks you down into the flow of the rest of the album
nicely.
C O S M is a very odd track for Jon texturally, and in how it doesn't quite turn into a beat,
but gets on the cusp of doing so. It's very vivid and I enjoy it more with every listen. Echo Dissolve
is probably the least impactful track, but it's also the shortest and manages to fit in with the
album well enough. Luminous Beings is the perfect blend of the first and second half of the
album. It feels very much like the resolution or culmination of the tensions on the album. It's like
taking everything from the album and harnessing that energy to create something new (if that
makes sense).
At first listen, I also wasn't crazy about Recovery, and thought I might find myself skipping it.
However, I think of it more of an epilogue track than a final track (kinda like My Warm Blood on
The Microphones' The Glow Pt. 2). It feels like you're coming back into reality from the
transcendent experience you just had, like when the shrooms wear off. It's sobering and
refreshing, the experience still echoing in your head as you process it through a new reality,
knowing that it has changed you. I can't think of a song that captures that feeling better.
This album will only continue to grow on me. It's very cinematic in its structure. It's a fucking
adventure, and there's no doubt Jon has improved at crafting sounds and textures, structuring his
tracks, and experimenting with sound. |
